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Title: Walk on Water: Inside an Elite Pediatric Surgical Unit by Michael Ruhlman ISBN: 0-670-03201-8 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 14 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great book on surgical medicine
Comment: This is the first Ruhlman book I've read, and while the flashbacks and flash forwards get a little annoying at times, his writing style otherwise is terrific. His exacting research style helps this book shine.
I really felt I got to know Dr. Mee and entire staff at the Cleveland Clinic, quirks and all. The medical explanations were great (short of adding diagrams) and will leave you amazed by what these people do. It's surgery at a level most of us have never heard about before. And it's a personality study of a few very interesting people that sacrifice a lot to change the lives of sick children and improve medicine.
If you're interested in surgery or even other medical specialties (such as cardiology or radiology) this is a very enjoyable read. Much more so that the typical collection of essays written by Doctors themselves.
Other than the flashbacks, the only annoying thing in the book is Ruhlman's ruminations on the fact that many people, out of ignorance, send their children to sub-par surgeons for critical heart surgery when there are people like Dr. Mee out there. He points out that it changes the patient's chances of success from 98% to 80% or less. However, he just hits you on the head with this fact several times which even though true, gets old.
Rating: 5
Summary: Pediatric Surgery like you never imagined
Comment: Michael Ruhlman digs deep into the very elite field of pediatric surgery, arguably the most difficult and challenging aspect of medicine. Centered around Dr. Roger Mee, one of the best pediatric surgeons in the world who has been lauded as a doctor who "can walk on water" and "has the hands of God", Ruhlman brings you an inside look into this very specialized and unknown field (for those who are fortunate enough). This book takes you seamlessly from beginning to end, touching on the doctors' lives, the physician assistants, the lives of the parents, the history of heart surgery, and an in depth description of the cardio physiology and surgical procedures. The pathology of some heart defects could easily get confusing, but Ruhlman does a great job describing the situation and breaking it down for the reader. The sheer detail of the surgical procedures described in this book is enough to amaze everyone. Anyone interested in how doctors save babies by performing open heart surgery on walnut sized deformed hearts using millimeter precision against the clock should read this book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting, but could be much better
Comment: While there is no doubt that Ruhlman's Walk on Water is exhaustively researched, it would have been a much better book had it been aggressively edited.
The first thing that turned me off was the author's repetitiveness. Many concepts are explained, then reexplained a chapter or 2 later. One example is the pronunciation of the word "peds." Really, Mr. Ruhlman, I'm an intelligent reader and can remember from one chapter to the next what you have written. I don't need to have the concepts repeatedly pounded into my head.
I found the chapter on the history of heart surgery to be about as entertaining as a college freshman's term paper.
However, the main thing that bugged me was the number of misspellings of medical terms. For example, ascites (a collection of fluid in the abdomen) is spelled acites, and patent ductus arteriosus, a condition which is repeatedly described, has the last word misspelled as arteriosis. I felt this lack of attention to detail severely compromises the integrity of an otherwise factual book. Should I really trust that Mr. Ruhlman knows that he's talking about when he can't spell the terms correctly?
Don't get put off by the few reviewers here who have mentioned profanity. It is used but sparingly and in situations which seem quite true to life. If it bothers you, simply take a pen and mark out the offending words.
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Title: Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue by Danielle Ofri ISBN: 0807072524 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach ISBN: 0393050939 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande ISBN: 0312421702 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard by Michael Ruhlman ISBN: 014200121X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: If I Get to Five: What Children Can Teach Us About Courage and Character by Fred Epstein, Josh Horwitz ISBN: 080507144X Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: 03 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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